Beavercreek grads inducted into Semi-Pro Baseball Hall of Fame
Gabe Thomas shared a photo on Facebook on Oct. 10 with two square red bricks, one featuring his name and the other with the name of his brother Josh Thomas. The bricks also featured the logo of the Ohio Woodpeckers, the semi-pro baseball team that gave playing careers extended life.
“Today is a big day!” Gabe wrote in the caption for the photo. “From little league to high school, then college to semi-pro, we always found a way to be teammates and now we’ll be cemented into the National Semi-Pro Baseball Hall of Fame as teammates forever! First brothers to ever be inducted into the same class.”
The ceremony took place in Evansville, Ind., where the Hall of Fame is located. The Thomas brothers, teammates at Beavercreek High School and then Eastern Kentucky University, now belong to a hall of fame that includes Hank Aaron, Bob Feller and Babe Ruth, all of whom played semi-pro baseball before beginning careers in Major League Baseball.
The Woodpeckers started play in 1998 in the Miami Valley Adult Baseball League, Gabe said. He and his brother joined the team when their
college careers ended. Gabe, a 1996 Beavercreek grad who now lives in South Lebanon, played right field. Josh, a 1998 grad who lives in Liberty Twp., was a pitcher.
Gabe says he and his brother played more than 500 games for the Woodpeckers. Gabe played 12 seasons. Josh played 10.
Gabe hit .400 in his career with 96 home runs and 600 RBIs. Josh ranks in the top three in victories and strikeouts for the Woodpeckers.
“Most guys who play semipro are guys who played college or had a brief stint or at least attempted to play professional baseball,” Gabe said. “I’d say semi-pro is the equivalent of probably like Double-A or low Triple-A, as far as minor league system goes with the level of competition.”
Gabe is confident his teams would have dominated Single-A teams like the Dayton Dragons.
Semi-pro players don’t get
paid. At the most, they get help with travel expenses or in buying uniforms and equipment thanks to sponsors.
“It takes some serious dedication,” Gabe said. “It’s a little bit different because you’re not going to practice every day. In semi-pro, you don’t hardly practice. You’re on your own. I built a little batting cage in my basement — one of those big pop-up tent type things with a tee. I would hit and throw as much as I could. This is all about just passion for the game. You don’t have someone telling you to go to practice every day. You’ve got to keep your game tight, and it gets harder and harder as you get older.”